The sounds of screaming had a compressed texture to it.

Everyone was surrounded, Jackie knew it.

Tabby was at her left, fear craved her expression. Both of them turned on their heels before it got as bad as it did, only to realize everything is falling apart.

Jackie’s head was pounding due to her senses overclocking, her eyes feeling on fire due to looking around constantly for an opening without blinking, and nearly twisting her own neck switching her head side to side, forward, backward. There was no mistaking it, everyone was trapped.

FEAR AND LOATHING

The signs of its use—the shadows in the area begin to exaggerate, then creep along the surfaces, crunching and stretching along in stuttering, schizophrenic intervals before turning into the black oil. The disgusting viscous climbing out from every inch one could see, gathering around everyone’s feet.

Gaining and sopping in place, forming into size as it shivered to do so and as the people screamed, the substance groaned heavily in response.

There was a path. A diagonal sprint towards the entrance/exit. The pathway corned by so many people becoming consumed by darkness.

Jackie lived within these mere seconds of terror. At the cost of filling her head with so much tremendous detail, pushing her senses to what they could kind of reach. But as she looked around her, she witnessed the snapshot of many people—doomed. Trapped without a chance. The moment Jackie gathered herself to help Tabby away, she would be turning her back on these people frozen in fear.

Stupid power, and she couldn’t even use it to save others.

She grabbed Tabby by the arm, startling the poor girl from her limited perspective.

Rushing away, Jackie both pulled and steered her only rescue in the awkward line they had to travel down on.

Jackie tried to ignore her own bodily pain, as she positioned herself mid-stride, turning and twisting to avoid. She knew that this would be torture for Tabby as well, but couldn’t afford to look back for the sake of both of them. There was nothing but. She had to keep moving forward.

But that all shattered along with the glass that came pouring in from the front.

“WHAT THE HELL--!” Tabby screamed behind her. “THAT’S MILLIONS OF LIGHTS OUTSIDE, HOW IS IT NOT FRIED?! FRYING?!”

Jackie just looked on, with concern and realization written all over her face.

It was just one of those nights. Regardless of light population of urban cities.

Just a haze. A thick haze that tells one that they should stay in, don’t venture into the night this time.

Meaning that Mayhem could spam his abilities a virtual infinite amount of times.

Tonight of all fucking nights, Mayhem has the advantage.

It knocked the wind out of her, causing her to stop. Freeze.

Now, she was completely in the moment.

Filled with screams reaching critical mass, the sounds of inhuman groaning causing chills to twitch down her spine. Her mind, buzzing with confusion, despair. Fear.

Her surroundings began to shudder pale green, before everything crashed down around her.

***

Jolted awake, because she was grabbed from behind her neck and yanked upwards.

Jackie couldn’t even understand where she was, let alone what was happening, before being slammed down onto the floor again, gasping hard. Trying to regain breath, despite the small bits of rubble dotted along the floor causing her to briefly choke.

This was past the point of fight-or-flight, her body was trying to work again in a frenzy and quick.

Precious seconds were spent on flailing, kicking her feet at the ground—

Before a semblance of her mind was regained, and immediately, planted both hands onto the ground and hoisted herself up, against the strength of her oppressor.

And using her siVis to course-correct within the limited airtime she had, she now faced-to-face. But nothing, of course, was staring back.

A mass of drenched ooze, barely qualifying as humanoid.

Only becoming such due to the person it subsumed.

“Tabby--!” Jackie screamed out. “Is that you?! Even if it isn’t, please, whoever you are, fight it--!”

It used one of its masses as an arm to push Jackie, to crush it.

Jackie intercepted it, but shouted out in miserable pain.

While she could see only these things, but she looked at her ruined hand. Belonging to her barely healed arm that broke in the first place. Not only was she struggling to fight back, she was in pain that was slowly draining the pitiful strength she had left.

Back to back reminders. And now she’s struggling with something she thought she could easily do.

Large cracks began to spread across her ruined arm, and the oil began to rain all over her body.

She tried searching for anything, within herself, something hidden or had to be unlocked—so she could survive this assault.

All she found was the words of others.

“Keep it together!”/“Learn from your mistakes!”

While those two didn’t say those exact lines, their voices were the mental stopgap that Jackie really needed within that moment.

The cracks closed up, her arms shook somehow harder—but was able to push back a few, important inches. But no further.

“PLEASE—” Jackie screamed at herself. “IF THERE’S A REASON TO CONSTANTLY BREAK YOUR ARMS, IT’S TO FUCKING SURVIVE—GIVE ME THE POWER…!”

But as she was steadily being emptied, she realized that there truly is nothing there within.

With another primal scream, she just opted to roll out of the masses’ fist, letting go and it pounding the floor. Staggering up, she faced the mass, sweating, eyes forced open, still trying to catch a breath, any breath.

It lunched, but she was faster. It tried to be quick, swiping the “arm” towards where she landed, but she was frantic enough to jump back, skipping a bit in the process trying to regain balance.

She felt something on the back of her heel, that she was stepping on something flimsy, but useful.

The mass began to charge, and Jackie’s fevered mind saw the only chance.

She turned around, grabbed what looked to be a shattered painting in a thick frame, and chucked it—flicking her wrist as if it were a frisbee.

Without a beat missing, it clipped the mass’ “legs”, causing it to fall harshly to the ground, the moment doing all the work for her. Splattering within its zone, slowly melting like tar ice cream.

Jackie fell onto her knees, panting, lungs still rattling for salvation within her ribcage. She ignored the “correct” thought of her probably not having a ribcage anymore.

Looking up, as the sweat from her forehead ran into her eyes, she couldn’t believe it.

Walls pulsating like flesh, lights pulled into pieces within the air, the foundations bleeding into the ground with no signs of stopping. All with a pale green tint that flickered into reds, violets. All the surefire signs that a Paradigm Shift was immediate. That whatever Mayhem wants, he’s going to get it because he’s breaking reality to do so.

She had to do something.

Shooting up, before shouting out grabbing her shoulder, feeling her arm throb within its socket. Rocking in place, sputtering out sharp breaths, she continued onto the goop before here. Quickly digging in, probing for any sign of life and if it was the one she was supposed to save in the first place.

The sight of an elderly face within the muck answered the question for her. She stared for a moment.

She pulled him out, away from the ick, before hitting the floor multiple times with her good fist.

“FUCK! FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK! FUUUUUUUUUCK!”

This crazed freak was pretty much their fellow junior: he was admitted to the same hospital as they were, and got the powers at the same time, yet he could do so much destruction and misery.

After all these near misses, this survival ultimately didn’t mean shit for them—they’re just as weak at using siVis, if not more so.

They’ve gotten so much advice, and constantly use it, and it’s still just not enough.

Accepted their place in this fucked world, and they get continuously battered for it.

This entire thing, the most traumatic part of her life… False-positive. A false start, in the end.

But she looked at the old man. Balding grey hair that gathered the most at the sides. She couldn’t tear her eyes away.

That’s when she realized—the idea of stopping the monster mid-motion. She struggled to realize that with Maddie when she fought the top-heavy Shattered. And despite lacking the strength, both Stark’s and A-J’s pieces of advice provided the time she needed to getaway.

It wasn’t much. But it mattered.

Jackie dug into her pocket, pulling out the caked-in-dust phone. Pressing away at the icons, she raised it into the air, as it flashed.

***

Maddie steadily crawled out of the mountain of trash and ruin, panting as she looked to the floor, beads of sweat coming down like rain.

She looked up, seeing a flashing light from below. Shaking her head, she slid her purse down her arm, opening it. Pulling out her phone, and doing the same as her fellow fuck up. But, she began to get up, wobbling on her feet, before walking forward with arm raised—getting towards the light.

***

Tracy was relieved, finally seeing a light move amidst the dust and smog.

She finally got out of her self-made hiding hole within the wall, stumbling forward with zeal. It was many steps in, that she too remembered to find her phone, raising it in the air with her own light as she followed the other.

***

Aiko cleared the entrance, peeking her head in as she saw the light ahead of her, knowing that it was her people.

“C’mooon!” she signaled. “River Brooke’s already out here with me, whoever you are, just come on out and lead the others!” She put up her phone for good measure.

It was a laborious wait, but the three made it to Aiko, who in turn helped them out of the ruin.

Just to see how Steppe Ave in turn became ruined.

Gallons of goop steamed all over the buildings, reality slowly bending as it flickers due to the stress, and many, many people running away in the streets.

River was on her phone, exploring the Aethernet in speeds Jackie never seen her move in. Sliding away screens, bringing up new ones, piecing together a sphere of information. She looked at Jackie with dead eyes.

“Things aren’t looking too great.”

“Let’s compare notes,” Jackie said in a wavering tone. “I, um, all I knew—everything came down. I wasn’t ready.”

“I saw it come down,” Maddie croaked. “Goop boy’s shit started to weigh everything down… There wasn’t really any escape. He had everything covered—I had to duck under a table—”

“There was a blur—a familiar one,” Tracy paddled. “And… I think—she saved everyone. When I got a good look, I saw her lifting the crystal and keeping it up…”

Jackie glanced at the ruined conference hall, how shattered it was yet hasn’t fallen. She sighed in relief.

“Grace Masters.”

“I was on the roof, it’s much much worse than we think!” Aiko pointed forward. “He’s not the only one out tonight!”

“The hell could it possibly get worse--?!” Tracy exclaimed.

“J-just look!” Aiko jumped in place, continuing to point.

Jackie looked on, and her heart dropped.

As there were people running forward, there were a few straggling towards these people.

Shaking, stumbling, sweating.

It wasn’t until their flesh started to transform was Jackie got the clue.

She pleaded with herself, to increase her enhanced sight. To stare further, as she looked around.

Only to see her worst nightmare.

N’atural Savage, walking down calmly, dressed in white with a brimmed hat.

“This isn’t just a Paradigm Shift…” Jackie said with so little energy. “This is Another Long Night.”